By LAWANI MIKAIRU

Since  the clash of Dana Airline plane on the 3nd of June ,2012, in Lagos killing all the passengers on board and residents of the crashed site, there has been out cry about the ages of planes operated by Airlines in Nigeria. The general believe of most commentators,  though most not aviation experts, is that most airlines in Nigeria have in their fleets planes too old to fly. The revelation that  the DANA Mcdonnel Douglas 83 that crashed was almost 22 years old further fueled the call that all old planes should be grounded and phased out.

But world renowned pilots,aeronautic Engineers, Air Force Generals have maintained that it is not the age of an aircraft that determine its safety but the level of maintenance of the aircraft. Air Marshal Malcolm S D Wollen an Indian Air Force General and war veteran said in an article published in the Indian Express  that  ‘’ the age of the MiGs is not a real problem as every aircraft is overhauled after a predetermined number of hours.

It is accepted for service use only if it fully meets the requirements for brand new planes ‘’  He went further to stress that  ‘’the causes for accidents vary for each different type of aircraft, but common causes, as elsewhere in the world, are Human Error and Technical Problems’’.

He then  said that every aircraft must have essentially   materials/components  installed/supplied  that are to specification and dimension, especially for engine, fuel and hydraulic components; and that overhaul/ maintenance procedures must be rigidly observed . No aircraft anywhere in the world can be considered airworthy unless the aforesaid is done.

Air Commodore Jasjit Siwas not the age of the plane that caused the accident. Singh further said Technical Defect accidents occur due to interplay of a complex set of factors. Technical defects leading to an accident could be either due to an inherent or an induced problem.

The primary factors are according to him’’Design inadequacies, which is inherent; Manufacturing/Overhaul Quality which is induced. Maintenance which can be ngh ,another Air Force General cautioned in his article that Correspondents should use a lot of restraint while writing on complex technical matters.

He cited  A-320 accident at Bangalore in 1990 as a case in example where fly-by-wire did not help when the pilots failed to manage energy properly. It induced and Operational Factors which can also be induced’’

He then said that every technical defect accident has to be analyzed and investigated thoroughly so that  appropriate remedial measures can be taken.

Back home in Nigeria,  between 22nd October, 2005 and 29th October, 2006 within a period of 11 months three major accidents occurred which took the lives of 312 people. These three successive accidents within 12 months period accounts for 72% of the entire 33 years accident history of Nigeria.

According to Captain Muhammed Joji  ‘’It is worth knowing that in most of these accidents that claimed the lives of over 900 people there was no single structural or components failure of the aircraft. All the accidents were attributed to human factor,—Pilot error except one attempted hijack ‘’

Captain Joji further argued that there is no correlation between safety and the age of an Aircraft. He said the decisions to retire aircraft  are basically economic. Ageing aircraft requires more frequent maintenance than new aircraft.

Most aviation experts agree that a well maintained old aircraft is better than a poorly maintained new aircraft. New aircraft are often purchased to add capacity to the existing fleet not to  immediately replace existing fleet.

Therefore imposing a 22 year life span limit on an  aircraft, as it has been done by regulatory authorities in Nigeria is not consistence with the ICAO  standard and recommended practices. There is need for all not be too emotional when discussing air safety and aircraft.